Thursday, July 21, 2011

Why I Read your Blog...

(stolen from Rust Belt Runner here - see below)

Why do you read a blog? 
 


I currently have SO many blogs that I read on a regular, or semi regular basis, and I have different reasons for each one. Here are some of my favourites, and why I <3 you all!!! TMB from Racing with Babes


1) Love your sense of humour
Beth from Shut Up and Run


2) I know you from other online forums
Marlene from Mission to a(nother) Marathon
Meg from Worth a Tri
Huneybee from Mommy Running Through

3) You inspire me
Tall Mom from Tall Mom on the Run
Emz from RunEMZ
Laurie from The (Mis)Adventures of a Jogging Mom

4) I relate so well to you and your posts
Holly from Rust Belt Runner
The Turtle's Pace


5) You are an awesome runner
EVERYONE!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Currently I follow 67 blogs, and I swore, that number is lower than the number I thought it would be!


How many blogs do you currently follow and/or read?

To inflate my ego, why do you read my blog?

Monday, July 18, 2011

OMG!!!!


Top Running Blog

Without knowing it, I actually made a top 100 list for running blogs this year!!!!

You can check out the entire list here:

http://www.healthcarecolleges.net/awards/top-running-blogs-2011-awards/

I feel pretty privileged to make the list with some of the best bloggers out there! Now if only I can get my host, Blogger to work and get some comments flowing again, I'd be happy!!!

Go check out the other bloggers on the list, and I'll hopefully get my report (with functional comments) for the Spartan Race up ASAP. For now, here's a preview:

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Hello?

Ok, so after posting about my Perth Kilt run race report last week, I was kind of bummed that I got no responses to the post. BUT, I know I have been having HUGE problems with Blogger lately and commenting on other people's blogs, so I am hoping that it is not just the fact that I am boring.
Before I write my epic race report on the Spartan race, including a 3k uphill walk to the start, 35 degree Celsius weather and ski hills with no water, can someone leave a comment if they are able to, or telling me that they weren't able to comment on my last post? If I get no comments, I am going to assume I need to play with my blogger settings to get things worked out.
Is Blogger causing you problems???

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Perth Kilt Run Recap





Race Report #1 of 2 for this weekend, this is definitely the more tame race report, the Spartan race was, well, more interesting.
So all day Saturday I was hyped up because I haven't ran a race in so long! I forgot what it felt like to have anxious or nervous butterflies in my stomach, but really, I knew that everything would be fine, so I settled in and fueled up. It was a hot weekend, with temperatures going up to 28 degrees (82.4 F). I collected my friend M on my way out of the city to picturesque Perth.

Perth is known as one of the most beautiful old towns in the area, and it lives up to it's name. The city is amazing (interesting fact: It was the last place a legal duel took place in Canada, and now the dueling grounds are called "Last Duel Park"), and the people are phenomenal.

We got into town about an hour and a half before our race, and managed to find a parking space at our local courthouse lot. Perk of going there for work is that I had access to the lot and part of the buildings for washrooms and changerooms if needed, and the lot was two blocks away from the start point and end point of the race.

We ran over to the main park where a number of unique events were going on - there was sheep shearing, celtic music, face painting, a juggler, a guy on stilts with a VERY long kilt, and lots of people, both participants and spectators. We quickly got our registration package and I went to pick up my kilt.


I put on my kilt over my running capris, and it fell to over my knees! I tried switching with my friend, who had bought her kilt last year and was much taller than me, but it didn't work, and I was faced with rolling it up and pinning it. In the end, I am thankful I did, as the kilt had some poly-type material around the waistband that was a magnet for sweat and hot on the skin.


After some wandering around, getting our faces painted, and finding some secret honey buckets to flush our systems, we were summoned back to the park by the Town crier, who was organizing the runners to be paraded to the start line. There was over 1000 runners at the race, and the organization was phenomenal.


We came around the block, then waited for the gun. We were a ways back in the pack, and more than happy to be where we were. The outfits were hot, and I was not hoping for a PR. With the race the next day, M and I knew we would have to conserve our energy and run a good, but not amazing race.


Finally, the gun went off, and we slowly approached the start line. We had the opportunity to high five a Duke and Dutchess of Scotland (no not THE famous duke and dutchess, although they were still in Ottawa at the time) as we crossed and started running.


The race looped several times around the city, and there were lots of spectators. I found out later, one of my work colleagues who lives in Perth had came out to try and watch for me, but we never did cross paths. The course for the first 3k or so was lively, with people smiling and cheering, many senior citizens watching (which I thought was cute), and loads of water stations. They had bands playing, kids having fun squirting runners with super soakers, and one of the local fire stations was spraying water down over the course. It was a hot one, and the temperature was uncomfortable, but we kept a pretty decent pace.


At around the 3k mark, we were directed into a golf course, where we would complete the next 3-4k of the course. The golf course had beautiful landscaping and was serene, but the path was sort of sandy, there was no shade whatsoever, and little to no spectators. The heat really started to get to me here, and my pace slowed and attitude admittedly soured a bit. I managed to not grumble above saying "It's really hot" over and over again to M, but she helped me suck it up and move on. At this point, I swore I passed Andrew Opala, but didn't introduce myself mid-run.


Finally, we got out of the golf course and I knew we only had one km to go. Seemed like the longest one in forever, but we kept trudging along. I even managed to spot a cameraman up ahead and smiled and waived (Goal: getting a photo where I don't look like I'm going to die - CHECK!)


One last burst of energy got me the final 100m, and we crossed with a clock time of 1:00:10. Unfortunately, the timing chips were off and actually added time to the clock time. We think we should have had a chip time of about 57:00, which is pretty good in my mind considering the heat.


Little did I know the heat would get worse on Sunday for the Spartan Race (36C, 98.6F)... race report to come once I get some photos for that!
So bottom line - if you are ever in Perth in July, sign up for the Perth Kilt Run. Great event, great distance, awesome crowds and organization, and you can be a part of an (unofficial this year) world record run!